


Puzzling puzzle to get puzzled by

by EnderTheVoiid



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: M/M, actions speak louder than words, another entry in the series of Shuichi overthinks things that really should not be overthought, but Shuichi tries it anyway, which does not really mean that exploring your bf will get the truth out of him easier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24045928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnderTheVoiid/pseuds/EnderTheVoiid
Summary: Shuichi's usual approach to figuring people out is to treat them akin to puzzles; piece by piece put together leads to the bigger picture. So what happens when he finds the human equivalent of a milk puzzle in Kokichi? His drive to figure it out increases exponentially. He will solve it one way or another.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Kudos: 63





	Puzzling puzzle to get puzzled by

**THE THING ABOUT SHUICHI IS THAT HE’S ALWAYS TREATED FIGURING PEOPLE OUT AKIN TO _PUZZLES_.** Pieces he has collected over time and now is putting together in an attempt to discover the larger picture or a cryptogram to which he has just found the solution only to find out that that is just one layer and there are many more beneath. Sometimes they are simple, sometimes so complex he’s spent months, years trying to gain even the smallest footing before pursuing further. Two mysteries have never been the same which is perhaps what keeps him going in figuring humanity out one person at a time.

The easiest way to describe Ouma-kun is to compare him to a milk puzzle. He has no idea if he has all the pieces or if the ones he _does_ have fit together. And then there’s the problem of the pieces that are obvious lies, that have jagged sides which don’t fit at all with the rest of them. It’s one of those puzzles with thousands of pieces all of which look the same and only seem to grow in quantity. It’s meant to deter him, he knows this, and even though he’s had a few times he’s almost given up, he continues on stubbornly.

 **Lie.**  
_Truth.  
_**Lie.**  
**Lie.**  
**Lie.**  
**_Uncertain._**  
Truth bullet obtained ** _?_** Puzzle piece unlocked ** _?_**

This may as be the most complex puzzle he’s ever attempted, the hard difficulty a steep curve from what he had to work with before. But he won’t give up, no. For the sake of putting his mind at ease, for the sake of figuring out the enigmatic boy in front of him who smiles without a care in the world, for the sake of breaking through that wall of lies. For a sense of peace neither of them has ever known in their entire lives and will continue to not know unless they can trust each other.

His body moves before his mind can catch up with it, a hand slowly reaching across to move dark purple strands of hair only for them to fall back in place. Right, his hair never really lost its bouncy, curled form. The strand always managed to fall perfectly between deep, dark amethyst eyes.

Those very same big eyes look up at him with curiosity, a twinkle in them. Blinking **_(_** once, twice **_)_** asks what’s going, if something is wrong. Mischief shines in them as the hand that has previously mussed soft hair now comes down to cup a pale cheek. It fits perfectly, thumb rubbing against it gently as if afraid that applying more force is going to result into a bruise forming there. Carefully, it slides away and towards a pair of thin lips, ever gingerly tugging on the lower one. A little chapped yet still soft.

Satisfied with the inspection of the boy’s face, the hand lowers itself again. A thin neck meets him next through the checkered scarf as well as the uneven beat of a heart. What is going through the liar’s head right now ** _?_** Is he as fascinated by the detective as the detective is by him ** _?_** Does he hate this ** _?_** Feel embarrassed ** _?_** Flustered ** _?_** It’s still hard to read his expression, an iron curtain blocking everything but the same curiosity he’s been watching Shuichi with since the beginning of his little impulsive investigation.

Shoulder then arm but instead of continuing downwards, his hand sneaks between the arm and his trunk before being joined by the other one on the opposite side. Both of them press against ribs, feel how _thin_ Ouma-kun truly is underneath his clothes. He’s known this from before but actually getting to _feel_ it is an entirely other thing. His own heart drops in the pit of his stomach as his thoughts wander away. The boy must have been through so much to be like this – just skin and bones. It makes his stomach churn painfully while his fingers spread as if to cover as many ribs as possible, as if he were able to inject him with love and care and affection and make those ugly, invisible scars go away.

 ** _(_** It feels wrong, _wrong_ , _**wrong**_ , this is more than he wanted to know, too much and yet he can’t stop himself, he wants to know **everything**. **_)_**

Hands ghost over stomach in order to stop on hips. They are just as small and bony and it makes him want to pull them close, fit the liar’s frame to his own and encompass it whole in an attempt to protect him from the cruel world. He may not be strong or, well, good at many things really but that doesn’t mean that he can’t do his best to make the boy’s world a little brighter.

Speaking of things being brighter…

His own cheeks and the tips of his ears redden immediately when he realizes just how close they are, how _bold_ he’s been in the past five minutes and that he’s been staring at the other’s chest lost in thoughts. With a few sputtered words, he lets go and takes a few steps back, gaze glued to the ground while both of his hands now grab at the bottom of his jacket anxiously.

 **“ S-sorry about that. I… ”** well, he doesn’t exactly have a good explanation for this aside from getting a burst of courage and acting on it and now hoping that the earth will open up beneath him and swallow him whole **“ Never- nevermind. Sorry for the intrusion. I let myself get carried away. ”** and, oh, has he learnt a lot more than he thought he would have. There still are a lot of pieces missing from the puzzle but the ones that he has gained… he’s going to be thinking about them for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey! If you enjoyed reading this, please consider leaving a kudo or a comment! It lets me know what you thought about it and encourages me to post more. Bookmarks are also welcome should you decide that you want to come back to read this again!


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